Climate Contract Playbook Edition 3
42
[Alex’s clause] NEW
The Origin Story
Child’s name
Alex’s clause
Full name
Circular Economy product design obligation
Practice Area / Sector
Commercial, Intellectual property
Many products, across a variety of industries, cannot be reused or recycled at their end of life. This may be because they have been manufactured using materials that cannot be recycled or they contain components which can be reused or recycled, but which cannot be easily extracted from the product. It could also be because designers do not know enough about circular materials and designs. Also, it is often expensive and difficult to refurbish or repair products. Different countries may have different recycling capabilities and requirements, which will make it problematic when common goods are placed on the market in different countries. The lack of refurbishment, repair, reuse and recycling of products results in excessive consumption of virgin raw materials, which increases the Carbon Footprint of the product as well as creating a waste issue.
Issue
Include a clause in the agreement with the designer/manufacturer (the Supplier) which embeds ‘Repair, Reuse and Recycling’ concepts for the benefit of the client, the end consumer and environment.
Solution
The Environmental Audit Committee’s investigation into the UK’s fashion sector in 2018 was told that the UK sends 300,000 tonnes of clothes to landfill every year, which is worth £140 million 14 . The UN has reported that material footprint per capita has increased: in 1990 some 8.1 tons of natural resources were used to satisfy a person’s need, while in 2015, almost 12 tons of resources were extracted per person 15 . Many products are also made of plastics, which release micro plastics into the water bodies when washed. This pollutes the water bodies and endangers aquatic life. In March 2020, as part of its Green Deal, the European Commission published a new Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) 16 . The CEAP sets out the Commission’s planned initiatives for a product policy framework to make sustainable products, services and business models the norm, and to transform patterns of consumption so that no waste is produced. It includes an extension to the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Directive 2009 (2009/125/EC) to encourage a wide range of reusable, durable and repairable products.
Context
14 https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/1952.pdf 15 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg12 16 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/new_circular_economy_action_plan.pdf
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